Mubarak cites own age as reason for lack of reforms

On the day after the U.S House of Representatives advanced legislation that would cut military aid to Egypt as a way to force the nation into improving its human rights record, it was reported that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak told President Bush that he considers himself too old to conduct political reforms, Reuters reported last week

Saad Ibrahim, an Egyptian dissident, said he met with Bush on June 5 in Prague as part of a group of dissidents from around the world. According to Reuters, Ibrahim stated in an interview, “President Bush told me that President Mubarak claims that his age has caught up with hum and he is incapable of change, so let’s leave this to the next generation.” Ibrahim responded by telling Bush that he believed Mubarak’s remark was meant to persuade the U.S. to support the succession of Mubarak’s son, Gamal, who is expected to seek the presidency after his father leaves office.

Mubarak is currently in his fifth and reportedly last, six-year term. Ibrahim went on to say that he told Bush he believes economic assistance to Egypt and other authoritarian states should be connected with progress on political reform and bolstered individual freedoms.

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